About Work and Organising Teams

I have spent many hours passively thinking about how humans work—while doing dishes, watering the plants, whenever my mind wanders away.

Reflecting on the achievements of earlier humans, who thrived in more fluid and loosely structured societies, compared to us today, operating within rigidly defined nation-states and structured systems, I’ve drawn a few conclusions:

• Magnificent feats can be achieved with great velocity through good planning. That means dividing up work into clearly comprehensible pieces and ensuring the individual parts function without friction.

• The number of hours available to humans may or may not help. Productivity isn’t always a function of time but of structure, motivation, and context.

Often, people quote the pyramids or other wonders of the world and hold them up as examples to follow. But I’d urge us to look at inventions that transformed the way we think and experience life. Massive wonders—most built at the behest of slavery or at the burden of the working class under feudal systems—stand as monuments to what can be accomplished through coercion, but not necessarily as models for sustainable and fulfilling human work.

Instead, consider the airplane, the internet, personal computers, advances in medicine and nutrition, better farming practices, and improvements in human experience and quality of life. These didn’t emerge from large, hierarchical structures but from small groups of individuals left to work in ways most humans actually pine for.

There’s an idea that what you do in your free time, what gives you joy, should somehow define your profession. I’m not here to over-explain the old adage “Do what you love, and you won’t have to work a day in your life.” Because I don’t believe in that personally.

The reality is, if you work within a feudal system—a big team where work is divided and coordinated in a hierarchical structure—it’s daunting to imagine breaking out and doing something you love while maintaining the same financial stability. The challenge isn’t just about finding fulfilling work; it’s about making that day-to-day grind within the system better.

Building Tiny Hamlets Instead of Feudal Hierarchies

I’ve been thinking about the concept of small, self-sufficient hamlets—those that fueled the European Renaissance and scientific advances. There’s something about how these functioned that we could learn from when structuring modern organizations.

The idea of Teal organizations, as described in Reinventing Organizations, suggests a way to move beyond traditional hierarchies toward self-managed teams, built on trust and autonomy. But real transformation requires leadership to create the right conditions—it starts at the very top.

Different cultures approach hierarchy in different ways, as The Culture Map explains, and shifting organizational structure isn’t just about ideology; it’s about making it work in the real world. The challenge is figuring out how to implement these ideas in a way that makes sense for people and their existing constraints.

The Experiment Continues

I don’t have a solution yet, but I keep thinking about it, while building my tiny little hamlet in Foundation (yes, the game).

Maybe the answer lies in designing organizations as ecosystems rather than machines. Maybe it’s about finding ways to infuse autonomy and passion into even the most structured environments. Maybe we need more benevolent kings to set the conditions for these shifts.

For now, I’ll keep exploring. And maybe, while watering the plants next time, something will click.